Fallen Angel
by erintankl
Summary: Nico di Angelo is lost in a mysterious forest and meets a strange girl who claims to have both Poseidon and Hades in her blood. He trusts her to help him out of the forest, but they encounter monsters that may extinguish their life.
1. Stranger

**Enjoy!**

Nico di Angelo stared blindly at the fire. He thought of his sister. She had been gone so long... He cursed Percy Jackson, the one who had caused his sister to die. Hoping that she could be retrieved from the Underworld was the only way he could stay sane.

_I'll never leave you, as long as you live..._That was the promise she had made to him. He felt anger and sadness, a terrible, aching sadness. She had promised never to leave him, yet she _had_ left him for the Hunters. But now he had other things to worry about, mainly how to get out of the forest.

Suddenly, he tensed. He felt a presence nearby. He stood.

"Who's there?"he called.

Fast us lightning, a shape leapt out of the shrubbery. It pounced heavily onto Nico.

"Who are you?"it hissed."You're a demigod, aren't you?" Its voice was low and breathy.

Nico hesitated."Are you a monster?"

It gave a dry chuckle."No."

"Do you mean me any harm?

It dug the knife further into his throat, almost choking him."I will if you don't answer my question!"

"I-I am Nico di Angelo!"he stammered."Son of Hades!"

It released the pressure on his throat slightly. Nico wondered how the knife could have pressed so heard against his skin, yet not draw a drop of blood. Then he realised that the creature had been pressing the flat of the blade against his quaking skin.

"And you?"he ventured to ask."You're a demigod too, right? Son of-"

"Daughter!"it-no, she-growled.

Nico was stunned into silence.

She took a deep breath."I am the daughter of Morpheus."

* * *

Nico forgot how to breathe."Daughter of Morpheus? But he would have told us-"

"Even my dear father knew nought of me. My mother kept me well hidden."The bitterness rang clear in her voice.

"And what is your name?"Nico questioned cautiously.

She tensed and pressed her knife against his neck."Enough questions! Why have you intruded into my territory?"

He was still burning with questions, but knew enough to shut up."I'm searching for my sister. She's gone missing... I got kinda lost searching for her."

The girl threw back her head and uttered a throaty laugh. Or at least, that was what he guessed she did.

"Lost? In this forest?"She sounded incredulous.

It stung."Yeah, well, I don't know the forest as well as you do, forest girl,"he retorted.

"Such pride!"she cooed."Such pride for a _prisoner_ of mine." She pulled the knife away.

"I will guide you through the forest, _Nico di Angelo_, but for a price." Just as he turned, hoping to see her face, she stalked over to the fire and stomped it out. The sudden darkness made him wince.

A soft whisper came from somewhere to his right."Do not fear the dark, son of Hades. Your parentage allows you to use the shadows, to bend them to your will."

"And what of you?"he dared to ask.

A pause, then she replied, so softly that he almost could not catch it,"I have Hades in my blood."

* * *

Once again, she had surprised him. They walked in silence as she brought him through the forest. Finally, she commented dryly,"You have quite a talent, finding your way to the very center of the woods."

He did not reply.

After another stiff silence, he asked,"My camp, Camp Half-Blood, would have known if there was such a powerful demigod, with the blood of Morpheus and Hades. How is it that you managed to escape us and the monsters that would surely have sought you out?"

He felt her shrug."I am not certain, but my mother told me this forest shields me from the eyes of others... Both friendly and hostile."

"How old are you now?"

"Perhaps twelve or thirteen, I do not know."

They were quite for another period, walking along hastily, then Nico asked tentatively,"What was the price you mentioned, in exchange for your guidance?"

She shifted."I merely require you not to tell anyone of me. That is my price. I live here, happy and undisturbed, and I will not welcome..._intruders_."

He got the message, loud and clear.

* * *

They walked till the girl declared she was tired, and settled down onto a patch of soft...grass? At any rate, Nico was glad for the rest.

With a sigh, he settled down and pulled out a box of matches intending to light a fire, but it was dashed out of his hands.

"Hey!"he protested. He could sense the forest girl's cold eyes watching him.

"No fires."

And that was the end of the matter.

* * *

On the second rest, Nico was awoken from restless dreams by a loud, bestial howl. He'd come to expect silence from the woods, so much so that the slightest noise startled him. Not to say a bellow that seemed to ring with terrifying finality, for what seemed like ages after it burst out.

Next to him, he detected the forest girl springing to her feet. She uttered a soft curse.

"But how could this be?"she hissed in anger."There are no monsters in these woods..."

Nico backed away and stumbled over a tree root."What is that?"he whispered in fear.

He felt the girl place a hand as cold as ice on his arm."Hush,"she murmured."We have to move now."

They hurried through the tangle of branches and leaves, pushing aside all the foliage that got in the way. Nico uttered an expletive as he heard the growl of the monster, closer now.

"Do you know what it is?"she snapped.

Nico pondered this as he ran."That howl..."

After a few seconds of thinking, he shook his head."No, I don't."

"By the gods!"she said in exasperation."Don't they teach you anything at your camp?"

Nico found himself thinking,_Yeah, they do, but it's just that I don't spend too much time there. No biggie._

"Some camp,"she commented, and Nico realised that he'd spoken out loud.

"Yeah,"he muttered.

To his surprise, she sounded sympathetic."They don't welcome you, huh? Just because you're a son of Hades?"

His silence spoke volumes.

Nico felt her breathe heavily as she increased her speed."My mother... Well, her great-great-great-times-a-thousand grandad was Hades. He was never accepted into society, called a freak, just because he could..."

He felt her shudder."That is why my family has always been cursed with poverty. When my mother fell in love with Morpheus, she knew enough to hide me from the world."

She paused to take a breath."It's close."

Nico felt it, the presence of something so large and inhuman it could only have come from the deepest depths of Tartarus. Suddenly, he froze with recollection. He had felt that aura before. It had not been a good encounter."Oh, no. No, no, no."

"What is it?"she urged."Keep moving!"

"It... it's the Minotaur."

**So I hope you like it! I'll continue the Cubes of Osiris soon, this is just something to get my ideas off my brain. I may not be posting for a while cuz I'm busy... Someone has asked if this means Poseidon and Hades were gay. No way. I just meant that Hades was an ancestor. This was mentioned earlier.**


	2. Minotaur Attack

**I bumped this chapter out pretty fast, maybe in a day or so. The quality is still good, though, don't worry. Disclaimer: I own nothing. If I did... Well, let's say I'd be living in a bungalow. **

**Hope you enjoy it!**

In all his life, Nico had only seen the Minotaur once, and he did not wish to see it again.

Twelve feet of raw, sinous skin and muscle, coupled with a pair of dark, curving ram's horns above its distorted face, made it the most terrifying thing he had ever seen. And that was saying a _lot_, even for him.

Red eyes glowed with a mad intensity, boring into his soul, saying something like, _Hmm, too skinny, but you'll have to do. Wanna smell my awesome monster breath? _

The forest girl pulled him under a large, thorny bush. She started to dig in the ground.

"What're you doing?"he hissed. "We're trapped like fish in a barrel!"

"Trust me,"she whispered, her fingers working frantically.

"Yeah,"Nico muttered."That's _exactly_ what I want to do."

He could hear the beast now. It was sniffling among the underbrush, making snorting sounds. It was getting closer. Then Nico saw the horrible eyes, glowing with a fiendish triumph above him. He squeaked-yes, squeaked-with fear, scrambled backwards and toppled into a large cavern.

"What?"Nico said nervously."Where is this?"

Beside him, he heard the forest girl shift."I found this old foxhole ages ago. I've been digging into it just in case I needed shelter. I guess...it's grown pretty big since."

He realised that they were pressed too close together. He blushed and pushed away from her. She gave no sign that she had noticed his embarrassment.

Their shelter seemed to shudder with fear as an angry bellow cut through the brittle air. The monster began pawing viciously at the hole.

"Seal it up,"he said sharply."Or it'll get in."

She obeyed him, for once, pulling down a hidden trapdoor (Hey! How'd that gotten there?) and fastening it tight.

"Is that monster-proof?"Nico asked apprehensively.

Her reply of "I don't know, it's never been tested" didn't actually reassure him.

"I've heard of the Minotaur,"the forest girl murmured, half in awe, half in fear,"but I've never actually met him before."

"Trust me, you don't want to."

She detected the bitterness in his voice, the raw hurt.

"Have you...met him before?"Her voice was gentle, hesitant.

"A month ago, I was wandering around looking for my sister. Someone, her killer, had told me she was dead, but I did not believe him,"he lied. The truth was, he'd known instantly that Bianca was dead, but he'd been looking for a way to save her.

The girl inhaled sharply.

"My enemies sent the Minotaur to kill me. I called on Father to help me, but...he ignored my plea for help. Though he swore, ages ago, that he would always protect me."

"Ah,"she said, understanding."I know of this. The gods do not care about us. When we are shunned, feared, they stand aside silently. When we are in danger, they slither away. To them, we and our poor mortal parents are just playthings, toys to be thrown away at a moment's notice."

Sorrow punctuated her words. She had much anger in her heart, Nico thought, but then again, so did he.

He searched for her hand. When he found it, he gripped it tightly. She tensed, then relaxed slightly. Under normal circumstances, the closeness would have embarrassed him, but now, he understood. They were just two friends, seeking comfort in a time of fear and uncertainty.

With a start, Nico woke. For a bleary moment, he wondered where he was, then he remembered.

Last night, once the Minotaur had stopped banging it's head against the trapdoor, which _had _proved to be monster-proof, he'd fallen asleep. His dreams had been no more turbulent than usual, filled with angry growls of thwarted enemies and large, liquid golden eyes.

Where'd _those_ come from?he pondered with a weary smile.

Uncurling himself, he felt a weight pressing on his chest. Trying to escape was like wriggling out of a trap.

Then Nico realised it was the forest girl.

"Oh."A dark flush started to cover his cheeks. Gently, he eased her off his torso and got up.

The cave was dark. Nico felt his way around it and realised that it was around four feet tall.

"You're awake?"The girl's sudden voice startled him.

"Yeah."

An uncomfortable silence. Nico cleared his throat.

"Well, um, thanks, for saving me yesterday."

"It was nothing,"she assured him.

Another awkward pause, then she stood."We'd better get going. We should reach the border in another day."

Nico found himself unwilling to leave. Surprising, after the way they seemed to constantly rub against each other's skin (metaphorically, _duhh!_).

But he got to his feet."Then we'd better start."

"By the way, if you were wondering... No, I haven't seen your sister. In fact, I haven't even seen another human for years, since my mother disappeared."

Nico nodded uncomfortably."Thanks." The shadow of his lie seemed to hang over him like a stormy cloud.

Her face seemed to perpetually be covered by shadows. It made her rather unnerving and mysterious. He wished there would be light in that accursed forest.

Luckily, they saw no more of the Minotaur, though they often heard its unearthly howls echoing in the bowels of the earth.

"This is it,"the forest girl said. She pushed aside some branches, unveiling a shadowy plain."The Giza Desert, from whence you came into the Dark Forest."

The light of the sun, though muted, was still bright enough to make Nico wince, after the stygian darkness (and he should know) of the woods.

"I know,"she muttered."It does hurt the eye, doesn't it?"

Once more, a fragile quiet reigned. It seemed to have developed into a ritual of theirs.

"This is it, I suppose,"he told her."Goodbye, then."

Something caught in her throat."Remember, don't...don't come back,"she managed throatily."Or I'll k-kill you."Her voice was trembling slightly, with a weakness that he had never seen her display. In fact, it was uncharacteristic of her to display any kind of weakness whatsoever.

Nico took a step forward, then hesitated. Something held him back. He stopped, and turned. He could hardly make out her figure in the darkness.

"You could...you could come with me, back to Camp Half-Blood. We would teach you, protect you. We would..."There was something stuck in his throat and he cleared it uneasily. "We would care for you."

"Perhaps."She began to walk away. Her last words came as hardly more than a whisper.

"Or perhaps not."

**I think you're all wondering who the forest girl is. Well, you'll find out next chapter. Review please! I work hard for these... XP**


	3. Familiar Face

**Hi everyone. I own nothing. Enjoy the story and check the note at the end! IMPORTANT! **

A wan smile was all Nico could muster as Hazel concluded her joke.

"Who stole the soap? The robber ducky!" she exclaimed, and burst into laughter. Frank started laughing too, but Nico didn't feel happy. He felt... Empty was the word.

Everything he'd seen in Tartarus had been too much for him. The monsters, the eternal darkness... It was too much even for him, a child born to live without light. He often wondered how the inhabitants of Tartarus stayed sane.

Or maybe they hadn't.

"Nico?" Hazel called, snapping her fingers. "Nico, concentrate on me. Don't slip away."

Nico started. He'd slipped into yet another trance without him realising it. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be," she said sympathetically. "Mr. D will be back soon. He's an expert in madness."

_Madness. _The bitter truth of it. Nico hated the situation, how they had to tiptoe around him and treat him like a baby though he was already eighteen. No longer was he the childish twelve-year-old he had been when Annabeth and Percy had saved him from Doctor Thorn.

He stood. "Sorry, guys, but I feel like taking a walk around the lake. See you later." The message was clear. _I'd like to be alone. _They didn't object.

Nico plodded around the volleyball courts, feeling like an old man who had seen the world at its worst. He headed for his favourite spot, Thalia's pine.

With quick work, he scrambled to the top and settled down on the highest branch. He liked this place. It reminded him of when Bianca and he had climbed to the top of the oak tree in the military school and sat together. They had watched the sunset and the light of the moon wash over the scene. It had given Nico a profound sense of closeness to his sister.

Now all he had of his sister was a faint memory of her smile.

A faint rustle to his left alerted him to the fact that he was not alone. Nico turned.

Beside him, hidden behind numerous leaves, was a girl. She was watching him.

"Who are you?" Somehow, he didn't feel afraid. Rather, he felt a strange sense of recognition.

The girl rose slightly. She was still watching him with unnerving golden eyes. She tilted her head.

"Are you of... Camp Half-Blood?" she asked, speaking the name of the camp as if it was foreign on her tongue.

"Yes." He hesitated. "Are you a demigod?"

She nodded solemnly. "Bring me to your camp master."

"You mean Chiron?"

Nico should have pulled out his sword immediately. He knew that was the standard procedure for strange girls who turned up at Camp Half-Blood asking for shelter. But something told him to trust her.

"This way."

They scrambled off the tree and ran past the volleyball courts. The Big House loomed, mighty and intimidating, above them.

Chiron stood at its door, arguing with a group of nymphs. Just as Nico reached him, the nymphs hurried off. Chiron turned.

"A new recruit?" he asked, smiling kindly at the girl.

"Yes, I think so," Nico said quietly. Chiron nodded.

"My dear, what is your name?"

He paused, evidently expecting an answer. Instead, she looked at Nico and asked, her eyes scrutinising him intently, "Who are _you_?"

He started. "I... They call me Nico di Angelo."

Her eyes widened in shock. Then she stretched out her hand. As Nico shook it, she said clearly, "I am Ameron Child, the daughter of Morpheus."

Chiron exclaimed with shock. "You... the Fates told me you would come."

She looked at him."My mother told me that I would be called into the world soon. And I have found my calling."

She pointed at Nico. "He is the one who brought me here."

Nico was still in shock. He could not believe that here, standing in front of him, was the forest girl. He studied her carefully. He saw her eyes, shining liquid and molten in the morning light, eyes of frozen fire. Her long, dark-red hair. Her body was lean and mean, her arms slender.

"Come with me, into the Big House," Chiron said gravely to her. "We have much to talk about."

"How did you know of your parentage?" Chiron asked, his fingers fidgeting restlessly.

"My mother knew who he was."

"And why did she hide you?"

"We would have died otherwise. The people of our village are a superstitious lot. They would have killed us, as they killed my..." Here she paused. "...ancestor."

"Son of Hades."

She nodded solemnly. "And how old are you now?" Chiron continued.

"I do not know. Perhaps eighteen. At least, my mother said I was ten when she died, eight years back. The day I was born is quite a mystery to me."

Her eyes went to his horse legs. "You are _the _Chiron?"

He nodded.

"Now what we must determine is how to show you to your father."

"I have to go to Olympus." She sounded eerily certain.

"That _would_ be the simpler thing to do, but I am afraid that is impossible. The gods do not wish to communicate with us."

"Why is that so?"

Chiron paused before speaking. "A few of my demigods started a small rebellion. What's more, one of them snuck into Olympus and defaced the temples. I am afraid the gods are quite furious now."

"Oh." They sat in silence for a while, then Chiron said, thoughtfully, "I know these campers like my own flesh and blood. They would not start a war unless they were fools."

"Perhaps they were controlled by someone," Ameron suggested.

"Perhaps." Chiron turned his ageless eyes on her.

"I'd like you to go on a quest to quell this rebellion." Direct, and straight to the, point. She liked that.

"I have not been trained."

"You may not have been _formally _trained," Chiron agreed, "but you have lived in the Dark Forest from young, eh? I think that should be enough. What weapons do you use?"

"Nothing fancy, a dagger and a bow and arrow."

"And where, I ask," he intoned, his voice soft and dangerous, "does one find a _dagger _in the forest?"

Ameron blushed. "I, ah... My mother stole it from a man. She said it could protect me."

He asked for her dagger. She hesitated, then pulled it out of its sheath and placed it on his open palm.

The dagger was coloured a deep bronze, etched with carvings of vivid battles. Mostly, it was pretty simple, with a small line of aquamarine-coloured sapphires dotting the hilt.

As Chiron stared at it, his eyes gleamed. "Celestial bronze," he murmured, looking up. "My child, this is a divine metal used for the reaping of monsters."

When Ameron had slipped the dagger back into its sheath, she took a deep breath."I'm ready for the quest."

"Good. Now pass the volleyball courts, turn left, then consult the Oracle."

As she placed her foot on the doormat, she looked back. In her heart were the first stirrings of dread.

****** I deleted the previous chapter because of some major changes I had to make. Please note that Ameron is now a child of Morpheus, not Poseidon.** Thanks for reading everyone, remember to review!


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